(15 Jul 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Bethel Park, Pennsylvania – 14 July 2024
1. SOUNDBITE (English) Jason Kohler, classmate of Thomas Matthew Crooks:
"No, I didn’t have any classes with them. My only interactions with him were just seeing him in school, and he was bullied, sat alone at lunch."
++DIP TO WHITE++
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Jason Kohler, classmate of Thomas Matthew Crooks:
"Insane. I mean, this is where I live. I never thought this would be going on in a town that I’ve grew up in my whole life."
++DIP TO WHITE++
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Jason Kohler, classmate of Thomas Matthew Crooks:
"Well, I was actually at, Bethel Sheetz last night. Bethel Park Sheetz the one right down the road. And we were just like …. People were coming in, and we just heard it, like people were talking about it like, yo, this kid’s from Bethel. Like. And we just … that’s how we all learned. Then we started seeing pictures online of him. We’re like, wow, this is insane."
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4. SOUNDBITE (English) Jason Kohler, classmate of Thomas Matthew Crooks:
"I mean, yeah, but that’s not something you want to think about like that. You don’t want to have that first thought in your head like he’s a little off, is he going to do something?"
STORYLINE:
The 20-year-old nursing-home employee from suburban Pittsburgh who tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump was a registered Republican who packed explosives in the vehicle he drove to the campaign rally an hour from his home.
Law enforcement officials were working Sunday to learn more about Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, to determine what motivated him to open fire on the rally from a nearby rooftop, killing one spectator, before he was shot dead by the Secret Service.
The FBI said Sunday it has not yet identified any underlying ideology or threatening writing or social media posts from Crooks, who graduated from high school two years ago and had no past criminal cases against him, according to public court records. The FBI said it believes Crooks acted alone.
Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, said on social media the upper part of his right ear was pierced in the shooting. Two spectators were critically injured, authorities said. The man killed was Corey Comperatore, 50, a former fire chief from the area who Pennsylvania’s governor says died a “hero” by diving onto his family to protect them.
Relatives of Crooks didn’t immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press. His father, Matthew Crooks, told CNN late Saturday that he was trying to figure out “what the hell is going on” but wouldn’t speak about his son until after he talked to law enforcement. An FBI official told reporters that Crooks’ family is cooperating with investigators.
Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022. In a video of the school’s graduation ceremony posted online, Crooks can be seen crossing the stage to receive his diploma, appearing slight of build and wearing glasses. The school district said it will cooperate fully with investigators. His senior year, Crooks was among several students given an award for math and science, according to a Tribune-Review story at the time.
Crooks tried out for the school’s rifle team but was turned away because he was a bad shooter, said Frederick Mach, a current captain of the team who was a few years behind Crooks at the school.
“He was bullied almost every day,” Kohler told reporters. “He was just an outcast, and you know how kids are nowadays.”
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